Awards (and Zombicorns!)

Fun Awards and Making Up For Lost Time

I've been on a bit of a blogging hiatus this month, so today when I dragged myself back to Blogger I was shocked to find I'd been given two lovely awards. So, sorry this is so late, and many thanks to Katie from Katie's Book Blog for the Stylish Blogger Award, and to Carol from Artzicarol Ramblings for the Fair Dinkum Award! Seriously, guys, the zombicorns are dancing.

Zombicorn Partay!

My turn! The protocol seems to be that I list any number of things about myself you guys probably don't know (the number itself varies depending on the blog, so I'm picking 5 things!) and also that I pass the award on to a few others (I'm picking 5 again, because I like symmetry). So without futher ado:

5 Things About Me:

1. I like zombicorns I really love horses, and spent a lot of time as a kid taking riding lessons, going to horsemanship camp, and reading (and writing) about them.
2. My husband and I both know sign language and have several deaf friends. We actually met through a sign language class my church was offering.
3. I've always wished my name was something other than Katie. Katie is a nice name, but I had maybe a dozen friends with the same name as a kid. Throughout the years, I wanted to be called Star (about 3rd grade), January (high school), and Zoe (college). I had a friend or two in college who would refer to me only as Zoe, which I liked. (I still wish my name was Zoe).
4. I don't like peanut butter (blasphemy, I know!). Something about the texture combined with the taste, I suppose.

You guys all get a gold star.

5. I love thinking up titles for yet-unwritten books (but I can never seem to think of titles for books I've already written, drat!). I collect lists of potential titles and hoard them compulsively, and I literally like some books better because of their clever titles (a rose by any other name, eh Shakespeare?)

And now, for the conferring of my blog awards ... dun dun dun!

Check out these awesome bloggers:

1. Wendy at When Ladybugs Roar
2. Jaimie at Jaimie (Lynne) Teekell
3. Julie at Julie Musil
4.Creative A at *Headdesk*
5. T.K. Richardson at Evening Fades

Guys, feel free to pick either award, since I have both of them to offer!

Bad Query Revised Edition!

Someone suggested to me that since I posted a bad query I should also post a good query, and while I will probably do that at some point (I need to get into a queries mindset again, since I'm going to start querying another novel in Feb, but I digress...) I don't have one on hand. I did decide, however, to revise the bad one. Just in case anyone wanted a breakdown of all the wrong stuff in it.

THE QUERY:

Dear Sir/Madam: Please don't ever do this. Agents (I love you, agents everywhere, by the way. See, I almost spelled it "angels" by mistake.) are people like you and me and I imagine seeing impersonal greetings over and over gets annoying. Even worse? Spelling the agent's name wrong, or calling Miss Alex So-and-So MR instead. Lesson? Be careful to get the name right. Start off on a good foot. Do your homework. 

Greetings, agent! See above. 

 

 I have written a fiction novel, No. Novels are, by definition, fiction. "Fiction novel" is redundant. It's like saying "I have a boy brother."

 

EAT, PRAY, VAMPIRES, FAIRIES. Obviously derivative... Also I thought it would be funny. But to be honest, I don't know how much title matters, since a lot of titles get changed later if/when you sell the book. I wouldn't stress about a title, but definitely have one!

 

This 1,233 page, Don't list page numbers. Use word counts. Once you get used to doing it you can guesstimate the length of a book by the word count. Pages come in all shapes and sizes, so they aren't a good way of judging length when it comes to manuscripts. YA novels are generally around 75,000 to 90,000 words.

 

teen MG These are two different markets, Young Adult and Middle Grade. This fictitious book is probably YA (teen).

 

contemporary/fantasy/cozy mystery /thriller Try to pick one category, maaaybe two. This book should be categorized as urban fantasy. I was just being as ridiculous as possible.

 

has many morality lessons for today’s youngsters. Don't be condescending! Also, does this sound like someone who would write a book "today's youngsters" would find appealing? Didn't think so.

 

There are so many horrible books out there right now I can hardly believe the trash that is being published. In fact, you’ve represented so many terrible books lately that I thought I would give you something good to represent. Insulting an agent isn't the best way to make friends with them ... Have some respect for other writers, too. You're trying to be a part of their industry.

 

No need to thank me! I’m sure the millions of dollars in revenue that my book will undoubtedly generate will be thanks enough for us both. HA.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like have a dad who hated you because you looked just like your mom, who he also hates, and hasn’t seen in nearly sixteen years, therefore making you a constant and painful reminder of his past mistakes? Rhetorical questions are generally no-nos, based on every agent blog I've ever read. Also, this sentence is a complete disaster.

 

Meet Raevynn McKaliesteryn, Pet peeve of mine--WHY are there so many books in which every character has a bizarrely-spelled name?

 

the gorgeous, black-haired, blue-eyed daughter of Jakkob McKaliesteryn and this girl he met at a party named Jaymiee. Too many details. Completely irrelevant to the query. Focus on the main character. Keep it simple. Give a straightforward hook. Grab interest right away. Don't ramble about back story. Don't tell us her eye color. It doesn't matter!

 

So Raevynn lives in Louisiana with her dad Jakkob, her brothers Jonathyn, Prestyn, and Roman, and sisters Ashlyee, Luceigh, and Aimyee, and her Aunt Katherynne. This isn't interesting, and it has nothing to do with the story. Keep the naming limited to a few major characters. Don't list everyone who appears in the book.

Anyway, Raevynn meets a handsome boy in her gym class, Riyan, who has a mysterious secret. Riyan runs fast and he is always staring at her. Raevynn cannot help but be mesmerized. But then Greggory, who I forgot to introduce earlier, he’s her vengeful ex-boyfriend who’s secretly a fairy prince, kidnaps her. This paragraph's confusing and haphazard style suggests that the book still needs a LOT of editing. Show your skill in the query. Don't just sling words onto a page like you're rambling to your best friend. Be professional. Even if your query is emailed, treat it like a letter.

 

Chaos ensues.  This doesn't tell the agent why they should want to read your book. Be concrete. What kind of chaos? It's important that the query is clear and specific (and gives a sense of your book's voice). At this point the agent has no idea what this book is really about, and they have a good idea of the quality of the writing (terrible).

 

I think my literary genius will appeal mainly to fans of Twilight, The DaVinci Code, No Country for Old Men, and The Secret. I got a chuckle out of lumping fans of Twilight and No Country for Old Men together. Not that there aren't or can't be people out there like that, mind you! But seriously, humility goes a long way. Claiming your book will be the next bestseller is only going to earn you an eye roll.

I wrote this book because my friends dared me. Don't say this.

 

My mother, sister, and neighbor’s six-year-old daughter all loved this book and said it would undoubtedly be a bestseller. It's harsh ... but nobody cares. Of course your Mom loves your book. Don't say it.

I sent you the entire book as an attachment so you can read it right away. This is a great way to get your query deleted unread. Most agents' websites explicitly say NO ATTACHMENTS.

 

 I had a virus on my computer, but don’t worry, I downloaded some stuff from a popup and I think that’s taken care of it. Um, yeah.

 

 I am also planning to call and stop by your agency tomorrow just to make sure you got this email. NEVER call or visit in person. Just say no.

I’ve attached a picture of myself wearing a “dominatrix vampire” costume so you can see what I look like, and I am also fed-exing you a mug that says “World’s Best Agent” as a small enticement. Some agents have hilarious, oddly specific lists of what NOT to send. Like glitter, photos of yourself, trinkets, sand, candy, cookies, etc.

 

Please excuse the name on the handle of the mug—I was planning on sending it to another agent, but the idiot rejected my book last week. Don't talk bad about other agents. * whispers * They all know each other ... 

 

I hope you’ll like it anyway since you like coffee. At least I think you do, because you go to Starbucks every morning and I saw you drinking coffee in your living room last week. I'm going out on a limb here, but I don't think stalking is a good idea. Just saying.

PS I feel I should let you know that I’m just looking for a “starter agent,” and I will probably find a better agent who represents lots of blockbusters once EAT, PRAY, VAMPIRES, FAIRIES becomes a runaway bestseller. People really say this kind of thing to agents!

Anxiously waiting to hear from you ASAP! This is a major pet peeve. I guess it makes them feel pressured. It's not something I would personally even notice or think about, but I've read repeatedly that you shouldn't say you are "anxiously waiting." A simple "Thank you for your consideration" or such will suffice.

XOXO, Be professional. Although I admit I always want to put "Best wishes!" It's the nerdfighter in me :-)

~ ** ~Katie~ ** ~ Again, be professional.


Well, there you have it, ladies and gentlemen!


Have a great Friday!

Bad Query

Please don't ever do this.

I wrote this (intentionally!) terrible query for a contest a few months ago, and it still makes me chuckle. Let me stress that this is an example of what not to do!

How many no-nos can you spot?

THE QUERY:

Dear Sir/Madam:

Greetings, agent! I have written a fiction novel, EAT, PRAY, VAMPIRES, FAIRIES. This 1,233 page, teen MG contemporary/fantasy/cozy mystery /thriller has many morality lessons for today’s youngsters. There are so many horrible books out there right now I can hardly believe the trash that is being published. In fact, you’ve represented so many terrible books lately that I thought I would give you something good to represent. No need to thank me! I’m sure the millions of dollars in revenue that my book will undoubtedly generate will be thanks enough for us both. 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like have a dad who hated you because you looked just like your mom, who he also hates, and hasn’t seen in nearly sixteen years, therefore making you a constant and painful reminder of his past mistakes? Meet Raevynn McKaliesteryn, the gorgeous, black-haired, blue-eyed daughter of Jakkob McKaliesteryn and this girl he met at a party named Jaymiee. So Raevynn lives in Louisiana with her dad Jakkob, her brothers Jonathyn, Prestyn, and Roman, and sisters Ashlyee, Luceigh, and Aimyee, and her Aunt Katherynne.

Anyway, Raevynn meets a handsome boy in her gym class, Riyan, who has a mysterious secret. Riyan runs fast and he is always staring at her. Raevynn cannot help but be mesmerized. But then Greggory, who I forgot to introduce earlier, he’s her vengeful ex-boyfriend who’s secretly a fairy prince, kidnaps her. Chaos ensues.

I think my literary genius will appeal mainly to fans of Twilight, The DaVinci Code, No Country for Old Men, and The Secret.

I wrote this book because my friends dared me. My mother, sister, and neighbor’s six-year-old daughter all loved this book and said it would undoubtedly be a bestseller.

I sent you the entire book as an attachment so you can read it right away. I had a virus on my computer, but don’t worry, I downloaded some stuff from a popup and I think that’s taken care of it. I am also planning to call and stop by your agency tomorrow just to make sure you got this email.

I’ve attached a picture of myself wearing a “dominatrix vampire” costume so you can see what I look like, and I am also fed-exing you a mug that says “World’s Best Agent” as a small enticement. Please excuse the name on the handle of the mug—I was planning on sending it to another agent, but the idiot rejected my book last week. I hope you’ll like it anyway since you like coffee. At least I think you do, because you go to Starbucks every morning and I saw you drinking coffee in your living room last week.

PS I feel I should let you know that I’m just looking for a “starter agent,” and I will probably find a better agent who represents lots of blockbusters once EAT, PRAY, VAMPIRES, FAIRIES becomes a runaway bestseller.

Anxiously waiting to hear from you ASAP!

XOXO,

~ ** ~Katie~ ** ~


Dear readers, don't do ANY of these things. Just say no.

New Year's Resolutions

I make them. Yes, I am one of those annoying few who like New Year's resolutions. I make a list, get all excited, and whatnot. I love goals, and the start of a new year is a great time to make a slew of them.

Last year I made only one writing-related resolution. I wanted to complete four novels in 2010. (Not really sure why I made that resolution, since from a business perspective it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but whatever ... I made the resolution.) I didn't achieve it, actually, but I came VERY close, and since it was such a hefty goal I'm still pretty proud of myself. I did complete 3 rough drafts for separate books, and I wrote 50% of a fourth before throwing everything out and starting over. (The fourth was going to be completed in NaNoWriMo, but then I decided not to do NaNo and instead wrote a bunch of short stories that month.)

Anyway. I think I set that goal just to see if I could do it. I was (and am) trying out my creative abilities, seeing how long it takes me to write things, enjoying the relative freedom that I have right now since I don't have any contractual obligations.

This year, however, I'm going to focus more on publication and less on what amounts to creative screwing around, no matter how fun that is. I'm also setting a range of goals. Easy, possible, and unlikely chances of success, you know?

I have some submission goals which mainly consist of writing an obtainable number of short stories and then submitting them to a certain number of markets before giving up, and I have an older book sitting on my hard drive that I plan to revise and submit by the end of Feb.

I'm also going to finish my rough draft of Masquerade if it kills me.*

Does anybody else make New Year's resolutions? Do goals help you or merely frustrate you?



*This isn't exactly how the goal is worded, but ...

Settling on a Style

Sometimes I feel like I have split personalities when it comes to my own writing.

On the one hand, I love depressing glimpses into the human soul. Give me grim, give me bleak, give me chilling and stark. Happy endings? Who needs them! Margaret Atwood, Flannery O'Connor, Daphne Du Marier, and Joyce Carol Oates are some of my favorite authors. Discovering "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" at seventeen inspired me to be an author one day. The Blind Assassin moved me to tears--tears of awe. When I finished Mockingjay, I kept whispering "Wow" to myself, because I was so stunned and delighted by her courageously dark ending to the series.

And I love to write this way too. I'll finish a short story, triumphantly present it to my husband, and ask proudly, "Isn't it so deliciously awful? Isn't it chilling? Doesn't it just make you want to lie awake all night and THINK?" (Most of my short stories tend to be this darker literary style.)

To which he usually replies, "You love sad stuff. It's weird."

He doesn't like "sad stuff."

My styles are night and day different.

On the other hand, I really love funny, whimsical, lighthearted, happy-ending things too. Pride and Prejudice (I'm not saying it isn't deep, but it certainly isn't dark) is one of my favorite books and miniseries. Harry Potter (ditto on the deep, and maybe the dark too) certainly has its whimsical moments, and I eat that stuff up. Ella Enchanted (the book, mind you, I don't like THAT silly of stuff that the movie got into), Emma, Penelope, all of Neal Shusterman's books, smart romantic comedies . . . love, love love. I don't feel like I've peeled back the layers of my own soul when I read this kind of stuff, but I do feel like I've gotten a good bear hug and maybe a cup of hot chocolate,

(And that's just as valid a form of art, in my opinion.)

And I also love writing this kind of thing. Naturally, it's completely different than the first in both theme and style. It's also a little more commercial than the former, perhaps.

So I wonder--CAN I DO BOTH? It's not even a question of genre, because I tend to stay pretty close to sci fi and fantasy these days. But I don't want to give readers whiplash.

I've been told (vaguely) by a few agents that no, I can't.

I do not want this to be true. I don't want to have to choose one or the other. To date, my success so far in publication has been with the bleaker stuff (my short story "Vestigial Organs"). But there's hope for my fun stuff too, right?

...Right?

I've considered possible solutions. I might have to use another name for the more lighthearted stuff. (Also, it occurs to me, what I consider lighthearted isn't exactly fluffy necessarily ... it's just not hopelessly grim, and it has a happy ending!) I'm trying to think of authors who do this.

I might have to settle for mixing my light and dark. I think Megan Whalen Turner does this to perfection. Her books are pretty dark in some ways, but the lasting impression I always come away with is "hilariously funny and immensely cathartic in the end." I also think JK Rowling always did a good job with light and dark. I know her stuff gets pretty hardcore, but my lasting impression of her books, however, is "lighthearted." I don't mean that in a dismissive way, mind you.

Fellow writers, do you like to write in more than one style? How do you manage it? Can you think of successful authors who are all over the spectrum in their book styles?

Overthinking It

Yesterday I was reading a book, and I had a small epiphany. It amused me, and I thought I'd share.

I've been overthinking this writing thing in some ways.

See, I want my books to be WOW and DIFFERENT and SPARKLES OF GENIUS. I want people to read them and be blown away by their insight and depth. I want critics to weep at the beauty of my prose. Weep, I tell you.

So I sit down to write, and I have all those thoughts and hopes and aspirations piled in the back of my mind like a mountain of bricks. And I type, "The man entered the room and saw the bird."

I stop and examine this sentence. Will it make my readers WEEP WITH THE JOY OF ITS LYRICAL BEAUTY? Hmmm. Unlikely. Perhaps I should reword it. It's too plain, too frank, too straightforward, too boring. Readers don't want entered and birds! Too simple! Not enough descriptors!

Back to square one. The new sentence reads: "The young man stepped nervously into the blank-walled space and gazed at the canary." I stop again and read. Ack, I've used adverbs, adjectives! Is it purple prose? It looks pretty purple to me. Granted, it is more ... complicated. Will complicated make readers weep? (Maybe, but for all the wrong reasons?) The voice is weird. It sounds old. Is that how my writing voice sounds? Do I even know what my writing voice is? This one feels pretentious.

I consider the sentence. I have read that using one word instead of two strengthens the writing. I rewrite the sentence again. "The man tiptoed into the room and stared at the canary." Is this good enough?

It needs more. That is spare and brisk and good enough, but will. it. make. them. weep? I gnaw at my nails. I stare at the screen. I try again.

"The man ran into the room, gasping for breath. He scanned the room for the canary, freezing when he saw it."

"The man scrambled for the door, his gaze sweeping the room for the bird."

And really, this could go on and on, couldn't it? I could write this sentence a million different ways, with a million different shades of emotion and implication. I can become creatively paralyzed by it.

Imagine I spend thirty minutes on this sentence. Giving up in exhaustion, I put down my laptop and pick up a literary masterpiece that has awards plastered all over the cover. My eye falls on this sentence:

"The man entered the room and saw the bird."

* dies *

No, but really. I had a moment like that, and it occurred to me that I somehow, unconsciously, feel that I need to reach this unobtainable standard. I feel like every word has to SPARKLE and MAGIC and DAZZLE in some mystical way, like ordinary words just aren't good enough or something. I don't really know what I'm reaching for, but it isn't there. As I told my husband yesterday, in desperation, yelling loudly:

"All I have to tell this story with are WORDS! WORDS THAT TALK ABOUT THINGS! I need more than that!"

He had a good laugh.

Now, don't misunderstand me. I'm not trying to bash wordsmithing. I think there are better, clearer, stronger ways to word things. I think some words are a stronger choice than others. I think prose can be sloppy, or purple, or weak, or lazy. I think all telling and no showing is generally a mistake.

But at the same time, I'm trying to keep myself from becoming paralyzed when I write. I'm telling myself that I don't have to make every sentence a tiny kingdom of philosophical musings. It's okay to say things simply sometimes, because complexity in a story is not due merely to the structure of my sentences or the level of my vocabulary.

Just something I'm pondering.

Cool Contest

Check out this cool contest going on at Jaimie Teekell's blog!